Real reason for Nadal pulling out of US Open?

[Nole_King]

What do you guys think real reason of Nadal pulling out of US Open was? He cited the pandemic as the reason but if that was the case he would not be playing French either. Why was he not confident for USO given he won 2 of the last 3 editions?

 

[3loudboys]

Had he pre scheduled a COD warzone tournie with Nick??

 

[weakera]

A combination of factors but primarily because of the toll it would have put on his body to play slams in succession from HC to clay

 

[Deleted member 770948]

What do you guys think real reason of Nadal pulling out of US Open was? He cited the pandemic as the reason but if that was the case he would not be playing French either. Why was he not confident for USO given he won 2 of the last 3 editions?

Because if Nadal came back to tennis after a 6 month absence and played a hardcourt slam, he'd injure himself, and potentially be too injured to play Roland Garros.
Whereas easing back into tennis on clay is exactly what he wants.
I thought everybody knew this.
After a long absence in 2012, there was rumor that he'd play 2013 Australian Open, but decided to skip it instead and easy back into tennis on South American clay.

 

[Nole_King]

A combination of factors but primarily because of the toll it would have put on his body to play slams in succession from HC to clay

But he only cited covid as the reason.

 

[weakera]

But he only cited covid as the reason.

Not true

 

[Navdeep Srivastava]

I think physical reason with covid also being a concern

 

[Deleted member 770948]

And the covid reason was more the fact we hadn't played tennis with covid, so it was unknown how safe it would be.
By watching the US Open it proved tennis can be done safely.
So even if France is rife with covid cases, there is confidence they can play the tournament safely.

 

[Open Stance]

This was my translation of his original announcement that he wasn't playing the USO...

"I would love to play the U.S. Open but the reality is that I have barely picked up a racket since March. Instead, I have spent a lot of time on my yacht fishing, played some golf and hung out with my new wife. I know that Novak has been training his ass off and will have a major chip on his shoulder after the Adriac Tour debacle. Thiem will ready be ready, too. Hell, even Zverev looked ok in whatever the hell you call that goofy tournament that Mouratoglou put on in Nice...he actually might be able to make a second serve now. Do I really want to fly all the way over to New York where I will have to break all of my OCD habits staying in the USTA bubble only to get my butt kicked in the first week? I can use Covid as a very convenient excuse to avoid embarrassment even though the PGA seems have figured it out with their grand slam tournament this week. I guess I'll start practicing on the clay and IF I am playing well and IF Rome happens, maybe I will show up but if not then I will shut it down for the rest of the year and still blame Covid. Good luck boys and oh by the way, this major will absolutely have an * by it since Roger and I aren't there. Sincerely - Rafa"

 

[r2473]

This was my translation of his original announcement that he wasn't playing the USO...

Wow, I can’t believe he really said that. But it’s all true

 

[MeatTornado]

He was scared of facing Zed

 

[ForehandRF]

He knew that RG is by far his best chance to equal Fed's slam record, so he didn't wanted to take any risks by playing the USO, and I'm talking about a possible injury here.

 

[Deleted member 771911]

He took a calculated risk- put all his eggs in the RG basket for slam #20 and GOAT coronation.

 

[Nole_King]

Not true

Check the link below:

'A decision I never wanted to take': Nadal joins growing list of stars opting out of US Open

Rafael Nadal pulls out of the US Open due to concerns over the coronavirus pandemic. Roger Federer will also miss the tournament through injury.

www.abc.net.au

And the covid reason was more the fact we hadn't played tennis with covid, so it was unknown how safe it would be.
By watching the US Open it proved tennis can be done safely.
So even if France is rife with covid cases, there is confidence they can play the tournament safely.

So are you saying that if French was scheduled before USO, he wud have skipped FO for USO?

 

[Nole_King]

This was my translation of his original announcement that he wasn't playing the USO...

LOL

 

[Slowtwitcher]

What do you guys think real reason of Nadal pulling out of US Open was? He cited the pandemic as the reason but if that was the case he would not be playing French either. Why was he not confident for USO given he won 2 of the last 3 editions?

What's Q saying about this?

 

[DSH]

Mallorca is far nearer of Paris than NY.

 

[beard]

Not true

If I remember correctly at first he did mentioned only Covid, but later he had put accent to other thing...

 

[Beckerserve]

What do you guys think real reason of Nadal pulling out of US Open was? He cited the pandemic as the reason but if that was the case he would not be playing French either. Why was he not confident for USO given he won 2 of the last 3 editions?

Nadal lied. He treated the USO with disrespect and has lost a lot of respect in the locker room i suspect.
Many players will be desperate to see Nadal not win FO. No issue withdrawing if he is honest as to why. Citing Covid was really poor form. Sorry.

 

[Deleted member 770948]

Check the link below:

'A decision I never wanted to take': Nadal joins growing list of stars opting out of US Open

Rafael Nadal pulls out of the US Open due to concerns over the coronavirus pandemic. Roger Federer will also miss the tournament through injury.

www.abc.net.au

So are you saying that if French was scheduled before USO, he wud have skipped FO for USO?

He would skipped both probably, because if he skipped Roland Garros and then went to play a hardcourt slam? No way, he'd not make a comeback at a hardcourt slam after months of inactivity, too risky.
In 2013 he was considering playing the AO, and withdrew because even though he was ready to return he didn't want to make a comeback on hardcourt after 6 months of inactivity.

 

[Deleted member 770948]

Nadal lied. He treated the USO with disrespect and has lost a lot of respect in the locker room i suspect.
Many players will be desperate to see Nadal not win FO. No issue withdrawing if he is honest as to why. Citing Covid was really poor form. Sorry.

US Open was the guinea pig, and now Nadal has seen the virus can be managed at a 2-week tennis event, he's ok with playing Roland Garros.
That in addition to his reluctance to make a comeback on hardcourt, which is known for being bad for his knees after hardly any preparation after 6 months of inactivity.
But I think the virus was the deal-breaker anyway, because we didn't know enough about how safe tennis would be.

 

[SonnyT]

When he made that decision, he thought it couldn't get any worse than USA, regarding COVID. But a professional has to play sometimes to make a living, not to mention, to catch up to Fed and stay just ahead of Novak!

 

[Jaitock1991]

I'll admit I don't really know the details about why specifically he decided not to play at the US Open(though I would assume that his rather long injury absence made him feel like only focusing on RG would be his best chance of adding to his slam tally, especially at this stage of his career). But if what's being said about the only reason for him skipping it was Covid-19, he's going to look like a massive hypocrite playing RG now, looking at the situation that seems to be developing in France.

 

[guitarra]

It was a tactical choice. A smart one. Whatever reason he cited is irrelevant cause who cares except for some keyboard warriors...

 

[irishnadalfan1983]

What he says it was - Covid....Very different going to US rather than France even if numbers might be the way they are....

 

[Deleted member 743561]

It was a tactical choice. A smart one. Whatever reason he cited is irrelevant cause who cares except for some keyboard warriors...

So you're saying that Nadal was lying.

 

[Lleytonstation]

So you're saying that Nadal was lying.

I think we all realized (himself included) that his first statement was too C19 related, and knew that would not pass the test. So he came out with another more truthful one.

 

[Phoenix1983]

So you're saying that Nadal was lying.

Nadal is always sure to be in the very best condition for Roland Garros. This has been the case throughout his career, and it remains the case today.

Methinks playing a hard court slam a few weeks prior may have left him slightly ill-prepared for the Parisian clay.

Conveniently, there was a ready-made reason, complete with no loss of ranking points, which meant he could avoid New York.

 

[Phoenix1983]

I think we all realized (himself included) that his first statement was too C19 related, and knew that would not pass the test. So he came out with another more truthful one.

What was his more truthful one? Credit to him if he did come out with one, I haven't heard it.

 

[Deleted member 743561]

I think we all realized (himself included) that his first statement was too C19 related, and knew that would not pass the test. So he came out with another more truthful one.

Assuredly, it has gotten tougher and tougher over the years to put forth attorney-crafted statements that meet his exacting standards.

Nadal is always sure to be in the very best condition for Roland Garros. This has been the case throughout his career, and it remains the case today.

Methinks playing a hard court slam a few weeks prior may have left him slightly ill-prepared for the Parisian clay.

Conveniently, there was a ready-made reason, complete with no loss of ranking points, which meant he could avoid New York.

Real-time updates to the damage control efforts.

 

[Lleytonstation]

What was his more truthful one? Credit to him if he did come out with one, I haven't heard it.

One that was more about being prepared for the FO.

 

[The Blond Blur]

One that was more about being prepared for the FO.

 

[sureshs]

He was knocked out in the Rome semis by Schwartsman so it is too early to say whether the lack of play has affected him.

 

[King No1e]

What do you guys think real reason of Nadal pulling out of US Open was? He cited the pandemic as the reason but if that was the case he would not be playing French either. Why was he not confident for USO given he won 2 of the last 3 editions?

The situation in US as a whole was much worse than what's happening in France. And obviously he'd rather kick butt on clay than wreck his knees again on HC.

 

[Bumbaliceps]

Really annoying to read haters posts who just lie just to make Nadal look bad. He did gave reasons that are non covid related, which are the fear of injury and wanting to be in the best shape possible for Roland Garros.
Stop pretending he just talked about covid, you just know this is a lie, this is once again only about the hate that you have against someone who threatens your fav record. You people don't even like tennis, just numbers.

 

[DSH]

Nadal is the GOAT for pull out. He is only one of the Big 4/5 with no kids

There is not Big 4/5.
And what is the relevance of having kids or not in the GOAT discussion?

 

[citybert]

There is not Big 4/5.
And what is the relevance of having kids or not in the GOAT discussion?

Fed, Nole, Murray, Rafa, Stan

And you obviously didnt get the joke. Admittedly it wasnt a great joke

 

[topher]

Check the link below:

'A decision I never wanted to take': Nadal joins growing list of stars opting out of US Open

Rafael Nadal pulls out of the US Open due to concerns over the coronavirus pandemic. Roger Federer will also miss the tournament through injury.

www.abc.net.au

So are you saying that if French was scheduled before USO, he wud have skipped FO for USO?

From your own article (did you even read it past the first paragraph?):

“We know that the reduced tennis calendar is barbaric this year after four months stopped with no play," Nadal wrote on Twitter.

Rafa had the initial post on Twitter that mentioned schedule issues and COVID. He came out with more detailed explanations and made it clear COVID was just one reason and returning on clay for health reasons was just as big.

 

[zipplock]

But he only cited covid as the reason.

Was a completely false excuse. If it was true, he would NOT play RG.

 

[Nole_King]

From your own article (did you even read it past the first paragraph?):

“We know that the reduced tennis calendar is barbaric this year after four months stopped with no play," Nadal wrote on Twitter.

Rafa had the initial post on Twitter that mentioned schedule issues and COVID. He came out with more detailed explanations and made it clear COVID was just one reason and returning on clay for health reasons was just as big.

I read it sweety. I dont know how the line you quoted changes any understanding at all. Are you saying because of barbaric calendar he chose French over US?

If you would like to read properly, this is exactly what he said ....

"The situation is very complicated worldwide, the COVID-19 cases are increasing, it looks like we still don't have control of it," Nadal wrote.

The 34-year-old from Spain called sitting out the tournament scheduled to begin on August 31 in New York "a decision I never wanted to take", but added that he would "rather not travel".

Fact is France is getting 3 times Covid cases daily than what there were during the earlier peak in May. How does he find the situation in control now. Sounds quite hypocrite to me for not accepting that he is maximizing his chances by concentrating his energy on RG.

 

[Nole_King]

Nadal is the GOAT for pull out. He is only one of the Big 4/5 with no kids

ROFL

 

[Nole_King]

It was a tactical choice. A smart one. Whatever reason he cited is irrelevant cause who cares except for some keyboard warriors...

I guess it is only his fanboys who dont care about what he says.

 

[topher]

I read it sweety. I dont know how the line you quoted changes any understanding at all. Are you saying because of barbaric calendar he chose French over US?

If you would like to read properly, this is exactly what he said ....

"The situation is very complicated worldwide, the COVID-19 cases are increasing, it looks like we still don't have control of it," Nadal wrote.

The 34-year-old from Spain called sitting out the tournament scheduled to begin on August 31 in New York "a decision I never wanted to take", but added that he would "rather not travel".

Fact is France is getting 3 times Covid cases daily than what there were during the earlier peak in May. How does he find the situation in control now. Sounds quite hypocrite to me for not accepting that he is maximizing his chances by concentrating his energy on RG.

You seem to understand exactly his rationale for skipping RG. A mixture of COVID-19 fears combined with wanting to focus on clay for injury and other reasons. He stated as such many times if you bothered to read his quotes in full. If you want to lie to yourself and say he didn’t, good luck with that!

 

[Nole_King]

You seem to understand exactly his rationale for skipping RG. A mixture of COVID-19 fears combined with wanting to focus on clay for injury and other reasons. He stated as such many times if you bothered to read his quotes in full. If you want to lie to yourself and say he didn’t, good luck with that!

Can you explain how France getting 3 times more cases than before is not situation under control as feared by Rafa earlier.

 

[Mike Sams]

What do you guys think real reason of Nadal pulling out of US Open was? He cited the pandemic as the reason but if that was the case he would not be playing French either. Why was he not confident for USO given he won 2 of the last 3 editions?

If he was 27, he would've had no problem with it. At 34, he doesn't trust his body in being able to handle that grind.

 

[coupergear]

He's 10-15 lbs overweight, needed time to play his way back into shape. Not sure he's there yet based on Rome look.

 

[PeoplesChamp]

So you're saying that Nadal was lying.

I think we all realized (himself included) that his first statement was too C19 related, and knew that would not pass the test. So he came out with another more truthful one.

Nadal is always sure to be in the very best condition for Roland Garros. This has been the case throughout his career, and it remains the case today.

Methinks playing a hard court slam a few weeks prior may have left him slightly ill-prepared for the Parisian clay.

Conveniently, there was a ready-made reason, complete with no loss of ranking points, which meant he could avoid New York.

 

[PeoplesChamp]

Because if Nadal came back to tennis after a 6 month absence and played a hardcourt slam, he'd injure himself, and potentially be too injured to play Roland Garros.
Whereas easing back into tennis on clay is exactly what he wants.
I thought everybody knew this.
After a long absence in 2012, there was rumor that he'd play 2013 Australian Open, but decided to skip it instead and easy back into tennis on South American clay.

Still waiting on you to admit you were wrong about Nadal playing USO.

 

[Sentinel]

What do you guys think real reason of Nadal pulling out of US Open was? He cited the pandemic as the reason but if that was the case he would not be playing French either. Why was he not confident for USO given he won 2 of the last 3 editions?

I remember when Fed skipped the clay season in 2017 what a furore it caused here.